If the furious debate around the state of healthcare in the US has led to any consensus, it’s that the system should be delivering better quality for less cost than it does. The truth is that our healthcare system is a sprawling mix of competing interests in which those of the patient are valued least. Too much discussion has devolved to simplistic scapegoating, and too few comprehensive, constructive solutions have been offered. It’s time for a fresh vision.

In straightforward language, Healthcare at a Turning Point: A Roadmap for Change outlines a new market-based business model that aligns industry financing mechanisms with the goals of prevention, improved quality, and reduced costs. Drawing on more than 25 years of cross-industry consulting experience, the authors:

Articulate a market-based vision of the industry Examine past efforts to reduce costs, their failures and their unanticipated consequences Spotlight perverse incentives that distort the way the healthcare system operates and make it less than it could be Present concrete recommendations for change within the healthcare delivery, insurance, pharmaceutical, device and diagnostics sectors Explain the changes that employers, consumers and policy makers can make to create a more customer-responsive system that delivers more value

For all the uncertainty in the current environment, there is also a rare opportunity to fundamentally redefine who wins in this market. Healthcare at a Turning Point provides guidance to executives ready for that contest as well as a roadmap for change.

Reviews

Everyone complains about the state of healthcare in this country—patients feel uninformed, mistrustful and lost; clinicians and hospitals are frustrated in their efforts to improve the quality of care while meeting demands for lower costs; employers are burdened with the rising expense of employee health insurance; payers who provide the coverage are pushing for greater evidence before approving reint for new drugs, technologies, procedures and tests; the medical product industry is struggling under the weight of increasing costs, longer development timeframes, shifting regulatory requirements and resistance from the other stakeholders to pay for new products; and politicians and state and federal government agencies are mandating a patchwork of fixes that seem to only make things worse. What we have lacked are tangible solutions that can actually work—until now.

Rita Numerof and Michael Abrams in their new book, Health Care at a Turning Point: A Roadmap for Change have offered a fresh look at the current state of healthcare in America, providing a detailed diagnostic assessment of what’s wrong, and importantly offer a comprehensive strategy to fix the problems. They begin with a vision of what a viable future state could look like in 10 years for providing affordable, accessible healthcare that promotes innovation in business models, products and services. Numerof and Abrams ...